At Approximately 11:15 a.m. on March 29, 2004 Fabián Correa was attacked by two men. At the time of the attack Correa was driving a taxi owned by Eduardo Luna, Ademir’s father. The men entered the taxi and made Correa drive to a dead end street. The men then asked Correa, “You are Ademir Luna, aren’t you? We are going to kill you” (Usted es Ademir Luna, cierto? Lo vamos a matar), before dousing him in gasoline as he sat in the driver’s seat of the vehicle. They then attempted to ignite the taxi, but where unable to get their lighter to work. As the men fled the scene they told Correa, “You know fat son of a bitch, we are already praying for you. Tell that gonorrhoea to take care of himself, because we will kill him”. (Sabe que gordo hijo de puta, usted está rezado. Dígale a esa gonorrea que se cuide, que lo vamos a matar). Correa contacted the authorities immediately following the incident.
It is clear from the circumstances surrounding this attack that Ademir Luna was the intended victim and not Fabián Correa. Ademir Luna, a journalist with the human rights organization CREDHOS (Corporacion Regional para la Defensa los Derechos Humanos), is married to Yaneth Montoya Martínez, a journalist with the regional newspaper Vanguardia Liberal, who was threatened by army-backed paramilitaries in November 2003. The threats against Yaneth Montoya Martínez resulted in her resigning from her post with Vanguardia Liberal and fleeing Barrancabermeja. Ademir Luna had also reported on February 3, 2004 that his home was under surveillance by several unidentified men.
LRWC is very concerned for the safety of Ademir Luna and his family, particularly in light of the gruesome nature of the attack on Mr. Correa. LRWC has written Colombian officials requesting that proper protect be afforded to Mr. Luna and his family and that a full an impartial investigation into the above events be carried out.
LRWC ACTION
Letter Written April 5, 2004 by Monique Pongracic-Speier
